


The Case of the Neglected Laundry

by MrsNazarioWrites



Series: The Case of the Neglected Laundry [1]
Category: Choices (Visual Novel), Choices - Fandom, Choices - Stories you play, Perfect Match (Visual Novel), Pixelberry - Fandom, Play Choices, PlayChoices
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Don't copy to another site, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-07-30 20:10:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20102935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsNazarioWrites/pseuds/MrsNazarioWrites
Summary: A misunderstanding over a basket of laundry gets a little out of control.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This was originally meant to be a oneshot, but the characters did not cooperate and the wording got super long. SO this is going to have two parts. This post here is Part 1.
> 
> And as always, if you’d like to be tagged in my fics, let me know!
> 
> Disclaimer: Characters/canon belong to Pixelberry

“Maya?”

She looked up from the coffee she was sipping as she browsed through Netflix on the TV.

“Are you and Damien doing okay?” Nadia asked, taking a seat next to her.

She nodded. “Yeah, why?”

Nadia tilted her head in the direction of the kitchen counter. In front of it was a lidded basket full of clothes piled on top of one another. When Maya continued to stare blankly, Nadia elaborated. “I think this is the part where you explain the laundry basket. Is this some new interior decoration I don’t know about?”

Maya let out a long, drawn out sigh.

She had done the laundry this week as she’d planned. But when getting ready to sort and fold the clothes in the basket, She’d been paged into work. On her way out, she’d asked Damien to do it.

There had been a major highway accident with multiple injuries, so she’d ended up working much later into the night at the hospital. When she’d finally returned home, the basket was still sitting there and Damien was fast asleep on the couch, still in his work clothes; his briefcase lying haphazardly on the floor.

Maya had been a little irked, but was too tired to make an issue of it so she had just gone straight to bed, figuring he’d do it the next day.

Damien was a logical, planning sort of person when it came to his work. But when it came to his personal space, he wasn’t exactly stickler for cleanliness. It was never a major issue usually since he would still get the bare minimum done. Not this time though.

Two weeks had passed and the basket was still sitting there, untouched. Neither of them had spoken of it or acknowledged it, yet somehow, both had made it a point to treat the very space and air around the basket like a crime scene.

_Nothing to see here, move along._

“Why didn’t you just do it when you got back?” Nadia asked as Maya finished filling her in.

“Because I was already so overworked that night.” Maya said indignantly. “I’d performed CPR on like 5 different people, given a kid 17 stitches, spent my snack break trying to convince a grown man not to drink Purell, gave this one guy a rec-”

“Okay, I get the point!” Nadia exclaimed. “You have a hard job and you were exhausted.”

“Exactly!” Maya said. “All I wanted to do was sleep when I came back. Besides why should I pick up the load when I’d specifically asked him to do it?!”

“Maybe he had a stakeout or had to follow someone that time and also came back late?”

“He could’ve done it when he got back!”

“Is it possible that he assumed the same thing about you?”

Maya went silent at that. “That’s … actually possible. But I clearly asked him to do it.”

“And did he actually say yes?”

“Actually it was more like a ‘hmph’. He was working on a case at the time.”

“Then he could’ve forgotten too.” she looked to the basket again. “Why don’t you just talk to him about it?”

“Nadia please,” Maya pinched the bridge of her nose. “This whole thing is weird enough without _you_ actually coming out as the voice of reason.”

“Hey, I’m perfectly reasonable!” Nadia drew back, affronted.

“Then whose side are you on, exactly?”

“The house guest who’s seen your lingerie in plain view for the third time this week.”

Maya’s face turned beet red. “What?! I-”

Both girls went silent as the front door opened and Damien walked in. “Maya, Nadia.” He greeted them both with a smile before walking straight into the bedroom.

“Seriously the basket is right there,” Maya muttered, irritated.

“Relax, I’m sure he’ll do it once he gets changed.”

They both hid their faces behind their coffee cups as Damien returned to the living room, only in his pants … and faced the laundry basket. Maya’s jaw dropped as she watched him reach in and sift through the clothes, retrieving a clean shirt and putting it on before heading back inside. “Okay did you see that?” She hissed, turning to Nadia.

“Actually I did,” Her cousin replied, an amused smile tugging on the corner of her lips.

“That can’t just be a coincidence. He’s totally avoiding it on purpose!” She turned to Nadia, who was shaking her head, laughing as she placed a hand on her forehead. “Do you not see this?”

“Do _you_ not see this?! You’ve been fighting for two weeks over _laundry_.”

“We are _not_ fighting, Nadia.”

“Okay fine, but you could at least acknowledge this is some sort of Mexican standoff.”

Maya shrugged. “Maybe it is. But I’ll tell you one thing …” She pointed subtly at the basket. “The one who folds that laundry is not going to be me.”

Just as Nadia was about to reply, Damien returned to the living room and flopped onto the couch next to them, putting his arm around Maya’s shoulder. She selected an option on the TV and they all settled in for the latest episode of _The Crown and the Flame._

About a half hour into the show, Maya glanced over Damien’s shoulder at Nadia, locking eyes with her.

_No way_, Nadia mouthed at first. But at her cousin’s pleading look, she rolled her eyes and then gave a subtle nod. “You know,” she said, trying to keep her body language casual. “That basket’s a good look for the living room.”

Damien looked to her, momentarily startled. “Hmm?”

Nadia pointed to the laundry basket. “Gives the place a very comfy vibe,” she said.

“Huh,” Maya remarked, squeezing her boyfriend’s hand ‘absentmindedly’. “Maybe that’s why it’s still there.”

“Yeah,” He said, once again staring at the TV. “I guess it is.” Maya watched him for several moments, then let out a soft sigh.

Nadia’s phone beeped and she swiped it open to find a text from Maya: _“Can you believe him?"_

The girls avoided eye contact, keeping their eyes on the TV as they pretended to navigate social media on their phone while texting.

_“Lol OMG, girl he’s definitely waiting you out"_

_“Ugh, well I’m done with this waiting game. 2 weeks is long enough!”_

_“idk Maya, this is D we’re talking about. He’d be so good at pretending to forget that he might ACTUALLY forget!!_ _”_

_“Oh believe me, I’m gonna make him remember this”_

———————–

** _3 days later…_ **

“Maya, have you seen my camera?”

“No,” Maya said, before sipping her coffee. Her elbows rested on the kitchen counter as she leaned forward casually, listening to him shuffling around the bedroom in search of his camera.

“Well can you help me look for it? I’ve gotta be at a stakeout in a half hour.”

“D, I’m sure you’ll find it. Just clean up around a little more.”

“I don’t have time to clean up,” he retorted, sounding mildly annoyed. “Can you just help me find it?”

She sighed. Was she being childish? Most likely. It had been three days since Nadia’s visit and _still_ no indication from Damien that he remembered what he’d ‘forgotten’ to do. But _this_ he remembered – because it was for work, not because she’d asked him. “Damien, just think back to what you were doing this week. You’re probably closer to finding it than you think.”

She heard his footsteps rounding the corner and approaching her in the kitchen before they stopped right behind her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Maya winced. _Damn it, why is he so good at reading people? _She took a quick breath, knowing this was it. “Maybe you dropped it while you were sorting the laundry into the closet?”

“I didn’t sort any laundry.” There was suspicion in his tone now.

“Really? I distinctly remember asking you to do it.” She said, never taking her eyes off of the coffee machine.

He shifted briefly before speaking again. “Maya?” She turned to find him standing with his arms crossed. “What did you do with the camera?”

“What makes you think I did anything with it?” She stepped forward and looped her arms around his neck, bringing her face closer to his. “I’m just trying to help you find it.” Damien put a finger to her lips to stop her, before taking her hands in his and placing them back on the counter top, effectively trapping Maya between his arms.

She bit her lip as he watched her intently for a few seconds. Then something seemed to occur to him and he tilted his head towards the other side of the counter. “This wouldn’t, by any chance, have anything to do with the laundry basket would it?” He shrugged nonchalantly, his gaze boring into her. “The one you left sitting out for the past few weeks?”

“Hmm,” Maya pretended to think. “I think a more accurate description would be the laundry basket _you_ left sitting out for the past few weeks.” She could barely hold back the smirk on her face.

Damien opened his mouth to retort, but then stopped, his eyes darting between her and the basket. Frowning, he pushed himself off of the counter and strode over to the basket. He looked at it, then back at her in disbelief. “Are you serious right now?!”

“And so that concludes the case of the missing camera! Courtesy of the brilliant detective Damien Nazario!” She grinned widely, clearly pleased with her handiwork. “Now for the case of the neglected laundry …”

He narrowed his eyes, realizing where she was going with this. “You do know I can just reach in and take it out?”

“Oh believe me I put it pretty far inside,” she said as she approached him. “You’re gonna have to do a lot more than reach if you wanna find it. Like say, I don’t know, folding the clothes?”

“Do you realize what could happen if I lose this camera?! I need it for work, why would you do this?!”

“Oh don’t be so dramatic, it’s not like I hid it in the washing machine!”

Wordlessly, he tipped the basket over, watching all the clothes fall out before his camera landed on top of the pile. He picked it up, brandishing it in front of her angrily. “So to remind me to do the laundry, you hid my work camera in it?!”

“It wasn’t a reminder. That would mean you forgot, which I _know_isn’t true.” She folded her arms, mimicking his earlier position as she eyed him accusingly. “I know you were avoiding it on purpose.”

Damien stepped back, then crossed his arms as well; staring at her inquisitively, relentlessly. “You were the last person to do the laundry.” If he wasn’t in full detective-mode before, he was now.

She nodded. “I was.” No way in hell was she gonna back down now.

“That means it was your turn to fold the clothes.”

“Yes and I was about to,” she confirmed. “But then I got paged into work so I asked you to do it.”

“I don’t remember that.”

Maya glared at him. “Yes. You do.” Before he could protest, she continued. “And when I got back, you still hadn’t done it.”

“It was two in the morning, and I’d just gotten back home and fallen asleep.”

“Fine,” she replied. “I accept that. But what about the next day? And the day after?” she stepped forward into his space. “And the _week_after?”

“First off, you came back the same night, I can say the same for you. And secondly, I don’t remember saying I would do it. I just figured it was your turn, but then days passed and I thought you forgot.”

Maya shook her head at him. “Why couldn’t _you_ do it?”

Damien leaned forward, repeating her words. “Why couldn’t _you_ do it?”

“I-” Her breath caught in her throat as he moved closer to her, one eyebrow slightly raised as he watched her expectantly. She stood straighter, nose-to-nose with him. “Because one, you _did_ say you would do it, and two, you moved the clothes first when you tossed them onto the floor to get the camera. So that means … Your. Turn.” She lightly jabbed a finger into his chest to punctuate her last words.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “There is so much wrong with that statement that I don’t even know what to say, but you know what?” He took two steps forward and Maya unconsciously backed up. “I’ve gotta get to work.” Then he grabbed his briefcase and jacket, before storming out.

Maya placed her hand on her forehead just as he walked past her. “Damien wait,” she turned around and walked towards him. “I was only trying to-” the door slammed shut before she could finish.

“If you think this means I’m gonna give in, you are _so_ wrong, Mr. Nazario!”

Unknown to her, Damien was already walking down the steps with a determined smirk on his face. “Well played, Miss Park,” he whispered quietly as he dialed a number on his cell phone. “Too bad it’s me you’re up against.”

———————

** _2 days later…_ **

Maya kicked her shoes off and plopped onto the couch with a tired sigh. She closed her eyes and napped peacefully for a few minutes before getting up and removing her scrubs and undershirt, tossing them into the washing machine.

Then her eyes fell on the now-empty laundry basket, still sitting where it had been two days ago. The clothes that had been inside them were now on the floor in a messy pile. Still untouched, their placement into the closet long overdue. _This is getting ridiculous._

Damien hadn’t said much to her since that stunt she’d pulled with his camera. It wasn’t that they were giving each other the silent treatment; no, things were still okay between them. They’d still kiss each other before leaving for work, watch TV together in the evening and sleep in the same bed, albeit with their backs turned.

But the silent war that had started between them was becoming a little more open.

Since that laundry basket had remained untouched for almost three weeks now, whatever clothes were up in the next washing cycle had just been directly tossed into the washing machine and dryer. And anytime either of them would pass the basket, they would make eye contact with the other, move as though to face it, then suddenly turn in the other direction; smiling smugly as the other rolled their eyes.

_At least we haven’t had anyone over so far. This would be pretty embarrassing to explain._

Maya thought back to yesterday’s argument, remembering how angry he’d been about her hiding his camera. This whole thing had felt so absurd from the start. Then she thought back to what Nadia had said. Was it really worth prolonging this over a pile of laundry?

Then Maya huffed indignantly. No, this wasn’t about the laundry. This was about him trying to get out of doing something she’d asked him to help her with. By folding that laundry herself, she was setting a bad example. Somehow.

She shook herself out of that line of thought. Now wasn’t the time to think about that; it was time for her to get ready for Nadia and Steve’s dinner party. It wasn’t a formal occasion or anything; just a small gathering with their close friends from their adventures with Eros. Alana happened to be in town as well and had surprisingly agreed to attend.

Damien would be heading directly there from his office since he was getting out from work sooner and she’d decided to meet everyone there once she was done with her shift.

As she moved past the laundry basket towards her bedroom, a small post-it attached to the kitchen counter caught her attention.

_Maya,_

_I have a little surprise for you. In the bedroom._

Was this his way of telling her he wasn’t mad at her anymore?

A small smile curved at her lips.

Maya had already thought about talking this out and this just made the prospect all the more appealing. Perhaps tonight, they could work out a compromise. They’d faced much worse problems than this together. Surely this wouldn’t be _that_ hard to resolve.

There was a light skip in her step as Maya walked into the bedroom and rushed to the closet, quickly pulling out a new dress she’d bought that she figured he’d love on her.

Then as she turned to look for this ‘surprise’, another note on the bed caught her attention. “What the-” She frowned as she read it.

Then something on the bedside table caught her eye. All color drained from her face and shivers ran up her spine. Maya’s hands flew to the sides of her face and she let out a loud scream as she recoiled in disgust.

After a moment of shock, she turned away from the gross sight and dashed out of the bedroom, slamming the door and then pressing her back against it. Her eyes squeezed shut and she shuddered, rubbing her arms unconsciously as she tried to get that image out of her head; unaware of the high pitched squeaks coming out of her as she freaked out over what she’d just seen.

A fucking tarantula in a fucking cage. With bedding and everything.

At least it was in a cage, so it wouldn’t crawl its furry ass out of there right? Maya shuddered again at the thought and made sure the door was closed securely. Then she let out a sigh of relief before her fists closed over the note in her hands.

Fuming, Maya brought the note back up to re-read it:

_It doesn’t have to be this way. Just fold the clothes and I’ll make it go away. _

“Oh hell to the fucking NO!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A misunderstanding over a basket of laundry gets a little out of control. It’s not a dinner party without some couple drama.

The house was relatively quiet, except for Nadia’s animated chatter with Sloane and Hayden as they watched _Desire and Decorum_. Steve was busy at the kitchen putting his final touch on the dessert. Alana leaned back in the couch with a bored expression on her face.

Sloane let out an outraged shout at the TV. “And once again Duke Richards ruins a perfectly nice moment with his disgusting comments!”

“Yeah, take a hike you, pissy old ballsack!” Nadia said heatedly to the pixelated character.

Hayden chuckled and turned to Alana, who was rolling her eyes at the screen. “Not a fan of dramas set in the 18th century?”

“I was promised a party,” she replied. “Not hours worth of poetry rap battles. It’s giving me flashbacks to when I had to read Shakespeare in high school.”

He lowered his voice. “Aw come on, it’s not that bad!”

“You’re not wrong.” Alana held up her newly-filled wine glass. “And I have _this_ to thank for it.” She grinned as they clinked their glasses together.

The conversation was cut off by the sound of someone knocking the door. Nadia paused the channel to go answer it. “Maya!” she exclaimed in surprise.

“Where is he?” Her cousin demanded as she walked right past her.

“I- he’s-”

“Damien Nazario, get your ass out here, _right now_!” Maya marched into the living room to find Hayden, Steve, Sloane and Alana staring at her.

“Well hello to you too,” Alana deadpanned.

The door to the bathroom opened and Damien hurried out. “What’s with the- oh.” He stopped short when he saw Maya. “Hi, Maya.”

“You. Asshole.” She bit out, fuming.

“I take it you found the note.”

“I cannot believe you would do this!”

“You hid my camera in the laundry!”

“Oh that poor camera!“ Maya exclaimed, placing her hand over her heart in a show of malaise. “So the logical solution was to lure me into the bedroom with some cryptic note for your ’_surprise_’?!”

“Um, guys?” Sloane spoke up hesitantly. “Maybe this is an issue that could be more productively handled at your apartment?”

“You’re right Sloane,” Maya said. “But sadly, it can’t because now I _can’t_ go into my own bedroom!”

Damien crossed his arms, smirking. “Come on, Maya don’t you think that’s a little dramatic?”

“Dramatic?!” She yelled. “You put a tarantula in our bedroom!”

There was a collective gasp.

“You _what_?!” Nadia’s eyes nearly bulged out of her head.

“Oh man, you didn’t …” was all Hayden could say.

Alana was resting her hands on her chin, sporting the biggest shit-eating grin. “Now _this_ is a party,” she slurred, leaning forward as she sipped at her wine.

“Hey!” Damien’s eyes widened at Maya’s word choice. “I did _not_ put a _tarantula_ in the bedroom!” He asserted, pointing a finger indignantly. “I put a _fake_ tarantula _in a cage_ in the bedroom!”

“A fake-?” Maya’s eyes narrowed. Then she clenched her fists. “The spider was _fake_?”

“A beanie bag from the store,” He said. “I know how you feel about spiders, Maya. You don’t really think I’d use a _real_ one, do you?!”

An astonished squeak escaped her as she stared at Damien in disbelief. “And you do remember who was the last person to scare me with a fake?”

Damien blinked, then his jaw dropped. “Oh come on, you really wanna go _there_?”

“Damn right, I will, Mr. _Indescr_-”

“_Don’t_.” He bit out. They glared at each other for a moment, before Damien’s eyes softened a bit. “Look I thought you’d have figured out it was fake when it didn’t move.”

“I don’t know Damien, maybe I was too busy screaming my head off. What about the cage?!”

“I thought that sealing it in an enclosed space would make it less creepy than it sitting out in the open.”

“Yeah?” Maya’s tone was dripping with sarcasm in a way that rivaled Damien’s. “How’s that working for you?”

He was so wrong about it not being creepy. Even though Maya _had _felt maybe a tad relieved that while she was gone, it wasn’t going to wriggle under the door or hide somewhere else in the apartment.

Although now that she knew it was fake, it wasn’t gonna move at all really, but still …!

Damien could feel everyone’s eyes on him as he watched her. Then he sighed and hung his head. “You’re right,” he admitted. “I crossed a line and I’m sorry.” She turned away, scoffing at him in exasperation, but he placed a hand on her shoulder to keep her in place. “I really am sorry, Maya. I shouldn’t have done that. I was just trying to get back at you for what you did, all because I didn’t fold the damn laundry!”

“I was only trying to make you do it, because you left it sitting out to spite me,” Maya said defensively, shrugging his hand off. She could feel another argument coming up and this was hardly the place to do it. But this issue had been festering for weeks and now that she’d just flown off the handle, there was no going back.

“You know, it was _your_ turn so I figured you would do it at some point,” Damien argued. “I don’t know why you were waiting for me to do it!”

“Oh please, you deliberately ignored me when I first told you about it!” Maya retorted. “So why should I do it?”

“You ended up coming back that same night anyway! So why should I do it?”

“Did you not _hear_ what I _said_?”

“How can you know that I heard what you said? I was half asleep. This didn’t even cross my mind!”

“So you didn’t think it would drive me crazy to see the laundry just sitting around for two weeks?”

Their voices started to go up again as they went back and forth. Steve inched his way towards them, only to be pulled back by Nadia. Then the oven timer suddenly went off and he scurried in there to attend to it.

“If it bothered you this much, why couldn’t you just talk to me?!”

“Why didn’t _you_ talk to _me_?!”

“Because you didn’t tell me to do the laundry in the first place!” Damien exclaimed. “You just _assumed_ I would do it.”

“I _did_ ask you to do it, and you _did_ hear me!” At Damien’s confused expression, Maya elaborated the same thing she’d told him earlier. “The night I got paged into work, I told you I didn’t have time to fold the clothes and you said you’d do it.”

“When did I ever say that?!”

“You heard me ask and you said ‘hmph’.”

“That’s all you’re basing this on?”

“What do you mean, ‘that’s all’? You said ‘hmph’.”

“But I didn’t specifically say-”

“No, you said-”

“No I didn’t!”

“Yes you-”

“I said-”

“You acknowledged that you would do it!”

“Well that doesn’t count. It’s not an affirmative answer!”

“Well it’s not a negative answer either, and you acknowledged it so that makes it affirmative.”

“That’s not- that doesn’t even make-” Damien gestured wildly in a show of incredulity. “Look you can twist my words all you like, Maya, but my point still stands. Me saying ‘hmph’ doesn’t count as an answer.”

“If you feel that way then why did you ignore me instead of giving me a ’_real_’ answer?”

“I didn’t ignore you, I just didn’t remember what you asked!”

“Oh for the love of-” She groaned in frustration. “You have no attention span!”

“And you have no sense!”

Hayden snorted, but quickly covered it up by pretending to cough. Sloane was looking between them with wide eyes, completely perplexed as she tried to process what exactly they were arguing about.

Alana raised an eyebrow, still smirking behind her wine glass. “People wonder why I don’t wanna settle down, I just don’t know what to tell them.”

“For the last time, it was _fake_!”

“Why did you have to use one at all?!” Maya snatched a pillow from the couch and swung it towards Damien. “You left me… alone … with a fake … spider!” She punctuated with each swing.

Nadia jumped in front of her. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, no rough housing in the living room!” She yelled as she snatched at the pillow.

“Maya, are you _insane_?!” Damien demanded.

“Don’t call me insane, _spider-collector_!”

“You smacked my ass with a pillow!”

“Of course I did!” Maya shouted. “’Cause that’s where your brain is!”

“Or maybe it’s ’cause you left _yours_ in the laundry like you did with my camera!”

“_Oh my god_,” Nadia groaned in exasperation. “_I_ will fold the clothes myself if you two would just grow up!” Damien and Maya gaped at her and she smirked. “Yeah, that’s right! Now, both of you behave yourselves or there’s no dessert for either of you.”

A tense silence passed as the couple glared at each other.

Hayden let out a low whistle. “Damn.” He, Sloane and Alana were all standing nearby, looking between the two of them, with expressions of nervousness, confusion and amusement respectively.

Then Maya nodded at her cousin. “You’re right Nadia, we’re sorry.”

“Yeah, me too.” Damien scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “Talk about bad timing, huh?” he joked half-heartedly. Maya’s eye twitched at that and he winced.

“Actually your timing couldn’t be more impeccable,” Alana quipped, gesturing to the TV. “Because now I didn’t have to watch that horrendous finale.” Sloane elbowed her in the ribs and she stumbled a bit, courtesy of all the wine she’d been drinking. “What? We’re all thinking it!”

Maya closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Damien did the same and he stepped toward her. “I’ll get rid of the fake spider once we leave.” he said softly as he placed his hands on her shoulders. “Okay?”

“Once _you_ leave.” she corrected. “_I’m_ gonna stick around a little longer. And when I get back home, your beard better be the only furry thing in the apartment.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

They continued to stare at each other. Although this particular issue had resolved quickly, their eyes were still communicating the challenge that remained. All of this had just been a misunderstanding that had spiraled so out of control that it was hard to tell who was wrong at this point. Someone had to end it before they made even bigger fools of themselves.

Question was, who would be the one to end it?

The sound of Steve hustling around the kitchen broke everyone out of their trance and they turned to find him coming out wearing an apron and oven mitts, holding a large tray. “Lemon bars, anyone?”

“Ooh I want some!” Sloane exclaimed and Hayden followed her as everyone rushed excitedly to the dinner table, all the recent chaos suddenly forgotten, to partake in the delicious meal laid out for them.

Surprisingly, the rest of the party went off without a hitch. One would think that a couple’s spat could completely ruin the evening. Not for this crew, though. The whole mess with Eros had brought everyone together in a time of extreme stress. They had become a sort of makeshift family. Plenty of arguments had been witnessed in that time.

So at this point, a little family drama was nothing new to them.

Still, that didn’t stop them from exchanging awkward glances, struggling to hold in their laughter, as Damien and Maya ate their dinner and maintained conversation with everyone but each other.

This was going to be a long evening …

—————–

**_Later that night …_ **

Damien looked up as the door opened and Maya walked in and set her purse on the table. “Hey,” He said as he stood up from the couch.

“Hey.” Maya walked past him into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. She could feel him approaching her from behind but said nothing even as his arms encircled her waist.

“I got rid of it,” he offered.

“Thanks,” she said quietly.

Damien stayed still, unsure how to continue. This had to be the most ridiculous fight they’d ever had, but thanks to his latest prank, she was angry at him. Now that he thought about it, he sort of remembered her casually saying something about doing the laundry but he’d been so tired that he ended up forgetting altogether.

As days passed, Damien had noticed the basket was still sitting there. As organized as she was, Maya tended to be forgetful sometimes so he’d brushed it off at first, figuring that she’d get to it at some point. Normally, this would be bothering her. But she never mentioned it, so neither did he.

Still Damien would find little ways to test the waters by wearing clothes specifically from the basket, only to get little reaction from her. Soon, it became obvious that she was avoiding it and waiting for him to do something; especially when from time to time, he would catch her glancing at him curiously whenever he would go anywhere near the basket.

Damien had taken that as a challenge and what started as a minor miscommunication had turned into a two week passive-aggressive war that escalated over a few pranks. Once the dinner party was over, he’d come home and thrown out the toy spider and cage as promised.

At least after moving all the small objects Maya had put in front of the door as a barricade.

That was when the guilt had really settled in for him. “I didn’t mean to scare you, Maya,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” She placed one of her hands over his as he held her close, kissing her temple.

“Soo about the laundry …” She suddenly turned around and he fell silent at the hard look she was giving him, her expression incredulous. Then she closed her eyes for a few seconds. When she opened them, her expression had calmed.

“You know what Damien?” There was a new resolve in her voice. “I will do the laundry.”

He blinked. “Wait, what?”

“For the record, I’m not giving in to that little note you wrote.” Maya replied. “I’m gonna do it.” Her lips twitched into a smirk for a split second before she held it back. “Because _I_ will be the one who did it.” Her hair whipped around as she strode over to the laundry with purpose.

Damien watched her, both confused and wary at her tone. All this time, she’d refused to do the laundry just like he had. Then after his prank, and with the way she’d let loose on him today, he’d been prepared to go ahead and fold the clothes with her. Now she was insisting on doing it herself? _No way, she’s definitely up to something. _

“Wait.” he maneuvered around her and blocked her path. “What’s with the reverse psychology?”

“I’m not up to anything, I’m just ending this stupid fight, and then getting some sleep – on the couch of course.” She hastily added at the end. “I’m not going into that bedroom for at least the next few days.” Then Maya picked up a few clothes and threw them into the basket with some force. As she reached for another, she turned to find him dumping everything back onto the floor. “What are you doing?”

“Put down the pantyhose.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’ll do the laundry.” Damien reached for the pantyhose she was holding, but she swatted his hand away.

“No, you don’t get to pull this on me now!” She snapped. “You got what you wanted, now I’m doing the laundry _by myself_ whether you like it or not.” She moved away from him as he reached forward, but this time he managed to get a grip on the long stockings.

“If I’m not doing it, then neither are you. Wasn’t that how this whole thing started?!”

“Yes, and it was stupid! Now I wanna be the bigger person and end it.”

Damien narrowed his eyes. “I won’t ask you a third time,” He said evenly, tugging at the pantyhose. “Let it go. I’m doing it.”

“You are _not_ touching that laundry, Damien!”

Whatever they’d been angry about before was long forgotten. Clearly they were just fighting for the sake of fighting at this point.

With a pantyhose. They were fighting over a pantyhose.

They tugged back and forth, their glares slowly turning playful as the tension from before lifted and the ridiculousness of this situation fully settled in.

Damien slipped the article of clothing out of Maya’s hand and held it above and behind him, grinning triumphantly as she reached across his chest to try and get it. “Give it up, Park. Your panties are mine.”

Maya leaned close to him, whispering seductively in his ear. “Not if I can help it …” She heard his breath catch and took the opportunity to snatch the garment back and dashed towards the basket. “Ha! Now they’re mine!”

“Wha- oh you’re gonna pay for that!” Suddenly, Damien charged forward, tackling her to the floor and holding her waist as he tickled her. Maya shrieked with laughter, squirming and wrestling with him until they were tangled in the pile of clothes that were undoubtedly crumpled up by now due to their antics.

At some point, Maya was straddled on top of Damien, pinning his hands on either side of his head. He smiled and intertwined his fingers with hers. “Seems like we’ve reached an impasse.“ They looked to the lacy garment lying somewhere far from them, then at each other … and burst out laughing.

“I agree,” she said, surveying the mess they’d made around them. “Looks like we’ll have to wash these clothes anyway. They’ve been on the floor for almost a month now.”

“We really are a couple of idiots.”

“Some of us more than others,” Maya giggled. “I still can’t believe you took the time to get a cage and bedding for the toy spider.” Her expression sobered just a little at that. “Just … don’t do that again, okay?”

“I won’t, I promise.” He tilted his head towards one of her hands and gave it a gentle kiss. “I’m sorry I scared you with a fake spider.”

“And I’m sorry I hid your camera,” Maya said, smiling shyly before shaking her head. “God, Nadia is never gonna let us live this down.”

“You got that right. But you know …” Damien pushed her hands back, grabbed her forearms and pulled her closer to him so their noses were almost touching. He grinned as she caught herself with her hands splayed across his chest. “Seeing you get all worked up like that actually got me thinking. Why waste all that energy fighting when we could be doing … other things?” he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Other things?” Maya rested her arms on his shoulders as she pretended to think. “Like the laundry?”

“_Maya_ …” he whined at her teasing, and she laughed even harder.

“Perhaps.” She gently trailed a finger down his cheek. “It’s certainly something to think about.” She brushed her lips against his, sighing softly as his fingers trailed along her back.

“Hey,” he tugged her hips gently. “What do you say we take this to the bedroom?”

“Nope, I’m good here.”

“You’re wondering if it’s still in there, aren’t you?” He laughed when she smacked his shoulder. “Maya, I swear I got rid of it.”

“Who needs a bedroom?” Maya whispered, kissing along his jaw as she slid her hands under his shirt. “When there’s a perfectly comfy pile of clothes underneath us?”

“Maya Park,” Damien raised an eyebrow, his breathing quickening as she felt up his chest. “I like the way you think.” He reached for the zipper of her dress. “And did I mention how amazing you look in that dress?”

“I knew you would. But first,” She’d just slipped off his tie and was now finishing unbuttoning his shirt. “You’ve got some making up to do.”

“All right then,” he said with a devilish smirk. “Show me what you’ve got.”

“Yes, sir.”


End file.
